Panthers’ Thomas Davis Has Surgery but Is Expected to Play

The Carolina Panthers All-Pro linebacker Thomas Davis had surgery Monday morning on his broken right forearm, but he is expected to play in the Super Bowl on Feb. 7.

“My understanding is if everything goes well, it is something he can mostly certainly play with,” Panthers Coach Ron Rivera said Monday.

Davis broke his arm in the second quarter of Carolina’s 49-15 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday in the N.F.C. championship game. Davis said after the game that he fully expected to play in the Super Bowl.

Rivera said that if anybody could play through the pain, it was Davis, who has battled back from three torn anterior cruciate ligaments in the same knee to play at an All-Pro level.

“It hurt; it was painful,” Davis said Sunday. “At the same time, I believe in our training staff and I believe in the process. If it is at all possible, I know they are going to get me back.”

Davis was dominant early in the N.F.C. title game, recording six tackles, two for losses.

BIG RATINGS FOR A.F.C. GAME The A.F.C. championship game drew its second-largest television audience on record.

The Denver Broncos’ down-to-the-wire win over the New England Patriots in what may have been the last meeting between Peyton Manning and Tom Brady averaged 53.3 million viewers Sunday on CBS. The network said that trailed only the 54.9 million for the 2011 Steelers-Jets matchup. CBS’s records go back to 1978.

In the N.F.C. matchup, the outcome was a rout, leading to the unusual occurrence of the early game’s getting more viewers than the late one. Carolina’s victory over Arizona averaged 45.7 million viewers, still up from the 42.1 million for New England’s blowout of Indianapolis in the late slot a year ago.

PRO BOWL REPLACEMENTS Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor, center Eric Wood and guard Richie Incognito are heading to the Pro Bowl. It’s a first for Taylor and Wood and a second trip for Incognito. Taylor and Wood replaced Carolina’s Cam Newton and Ryan Kalil because the Panthers are Super Bowl-bound. Incognito is an injury replacement for Arizona’s Mike Iupati.

Falcons cornerback Desmond Trufant and fullback Patrick DiMarco are replacing two Carolina players, fullback Mike Tolbert and cornerback Josh Norman. Julius Peppers was also added, making the team for the first time as a member of the Packers. Peppers, who is making his ninth trip to the Pro Bowl, will be replacing Denver’s Von Miller.

EAGLES SIGN ERTZ The Eagles signed Zach Ertz, their starting tight end, to a five-year contract extension through the 2021 season. The deal reportedly is worth $42.5 million with $20 million guaranteed. Ertz set career highs this season with 75 receptions and 853 yards receiving.

VINCE YOUNG ARRESTED Officials at the University of Texas say they are considering Vince Young’s position with the university after his arrest on suspicion of drunken driving. Travis County jail records show that Young, 32, a former Longhorns quarterback star who played six seasons in the N.F.L., was booked shortly after midnight Monday on a misdemeanor drunken-driving charge.

Young has worked with the university promoting diversity and community engagement.

CHARGES RECOMMENDED The police recommended felony charges of vehicular assault and hit-and-run against Seahawks fullback Derrick Coleman for an October crash after which he acknowledged smoking synthetic marijuana.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page B12 of the New York edition with the headline: Panthers’ Davis Has Surgery, but He Is Expected to Play. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe